וַאֲמַר יְיָ אֶמְחֵי יָת אֲנָשָׁא דִּי בְרֵאתִי מֵעַל אַפֵּי אַרְעָא מֵאֱנָשָׁא עַד בְּעִירָא עַד רִיחֲשָׁא וְעַד עוֹפָא דִּשְׁמַיָּא אֲרֵי תָבִית בְּמֵימְרִי אֲרֵי עֲבַדְתִּנוּן:
(Genesis 6:7)
And YHWH said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I created from the face of the earth, from man to beast, to creeping thing and to the bird of the heavens—for I have repented by My word that I made them.”
Scroll Marginalia: A Commentary of Undoing
In a single decree, existence recoils. The language of Targum Onkelos captures this moment not only with legal exactness but with a grammar of divine reversal. The verse is rich with features rarely clustered so densely: object marking, prepositional layering, causal conjunctions, and two occurrences of the emphatic Aramaic particle אֲרֵי—all encased in a divine declaration that both creates and dissolves by memra, the Word.
Key Grammatical Structures in Focus
1. אֶמְחֵי יָת אֲנָשָׁא — “I will wipe out mankind”
– אֶמְחֵי — Imperfect Peʿal 1cs of מָחָה, “I will erase.” The Aramaic matches the Hebrew sense of decisive obliteration.
– יָת — The direct object marker, crucial in Aramaic. Unlike Hebrew where אֵת is optional or stylistic, יָת is grammatically required before definite, specific direct objects.
– אֲנָשָׁא — “mankind,” definite plural with determinate suffix -א.
The structure — Verb + יָת + Object — reflects the classic object-marked syntax of Aramaic, with יָת indexing specificity.
2. דִּי בְרֵאתִי — “whom I created”
– דִּי — Relative particle: “whom.”
– בְרֵאתִי — Peʿal perfect 1cs of בְּרָא, “I created.”
Together, this creates a relative clause modifying the object: “mankind whom I created.”
The Gradual Ladder of Life: מֵאֱנָשָׁא עַד בְּעִירָא עַד רִיחֲשָׁא עַד עוֹפָא
This poetic sequence is targumic parallelism, structured around repetition of עַד (“until” or “even to”) to emphasize the scope of divine deletion:
– מֵאֱנָשָׁא — “from man”
– עַד בְּעִירָא — “to beast”
– עַד רִיחֲשָׁא — “to creeping thing”
– עַד עוֹפָא דִּשְׁמַיָּא — “to the bird of the heavens”
Note the final phrase uses a construct chain:
– עוֹפָא דִּשְׁמַיָּא = “bird of the heavens”
– דִּי functions as a genitive marker, equivalent to Hebrew construct state.
Divine Regret and Speech: אֲרֵי תָבִית בְּמֵימְרִי
Two elements stand out:
– אֲרֵי — Conjunction meaning “because,” “for,” or “indeed.” It appears twice, each marking divine motivation.
– תָבִית — Perfect Peʿal 1cs of תוב (repent), “I repented.”
– בְּמֵימְרִי — “by My word,” from מֵימְרָא + 1cs suffix.
This phrase shows instrumental בְּ usage + a theologically loaded noun: Memra, the Targumic concept of Divine Speech as agent.
Parsing Table
| Phrase | Gloss | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| אֶמְחֵי יָת אֲנָשָׁא | I will erase mankind | Imperfect + object marker + determinate noun |
| דִּי בְרֵאתִי | whom I created | Relative clause with perfect Peʿal verb |
| בְּמֵימְרִי | by My word | Instrumental בְּ + abstract noun with suffix |
| עוֹפָא דִּשְׁמַיָּא | bird of the heavens | Construct phrase using דִּי |
From Roots to Reverence
The power of this verse lies not merely in what is said—but how. In the Aramaic of Onkelos, divine resolve is syntactically structured: object marking tightens focus, repetitive adverbials layer solemnity, and particles like אֲרֵי and דִּי lend weight to cause and effect. Even “repentance” becomes grammatical — not emotional, but spoken, framed through מֵימְרָא.
The grammar here reveals a God who doesn’t just act — He undoes with syntax. One word at a time.
